Crown Point High School
Each year, the National Scholastic Press Association recognizes excellence in student media with scholastic journalism’s preeminent award, the Pacemaker. Pacemakers are awarded in each category of publication — online, newspaper, yearbook, magazine and broadcast.
Entries are judged by teams of professionals based on the following criteria: coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership, design, photography and graphics.
NSPA contacted Julie Elston, adviser of 2015 Pacemaker recipient Inklings, for a Q&A. Inklings is the student-run newspaper of Crown Point High School in Crown Point, Indiana. Inklings won a Pacemaker in the tabloid – 16 or fewer pages category.
NSPA also heard from Katie Pawlowski, a student reporter at Inklings.
NSPA: Tell us a little bit about the editors and staff of your Pacemaker-winning publication.
Julie Elston, adviser: The editors and staff were sophomores, juniors, and seniors who were also quite involved in other areas of the high school. Both co-editors-in-chief were finalists for Indiana’s student Journalist of the Year and senior Alaa Abdeldaiem earned the title. The editors, especially, were quite committed to the newspaper and took their roles seriously. They helped and instructed younger staffers in addition to tackling their own assignments.
NSPA: What were the goals going into last year and how did you ensure those goals were met?
Katie Pawlowski, reporter: Our goals going into last year where to uphold the high standards we’ve always had for this newspaper. We’ve always had a pretty good reputation, and each year we like to bring new ideas to the table to make the paper better. Besting ourselves each issue was our continuous goal, and it required everyone’s support and effort to create something new and interesting each month.
NSPA: How did the staff ensure the quality of the publication?
JE: The commitment of the editors certainly helped. Staffers completed beginning journalism prior to enrolling in newspaper. Editors and others attended summer workshop, state, and national conventions. All stories and pages went through several editing steps, from first drafts to final drafts. The staff wanted to continue and build upon the strong legacy of the newspaper. They did not shy away from covering tougher topics.
NSPA: Is there any one issue, story, photo, package, etc. that stood out to you during the year?
JE: One that stands out for me was the front-page coverage on Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the fallout on the state’s image. Another was a story on a student and family who had fled from Syria to Crown Point.
NSPA: What does the Pacemaker mean to you?
KP: It’s a relief. All the hard work and the late nights are worth it when we see that Pacemaker. This staff put so much hard work and dedication into making a 16-page paper, and to see that our masterpiece is a Pacemaker winner is an incredible honor. It also shows the next generations of Inklings staff what they have to live up to and what they can accomplish.
NSPA: What qualities will you remember the most about this Pacemaker-winning staff?
JE: I’ll remember the staff’s commitment, dedication, and closeness. They worked together and stepped up as leaders.
KP: I’ll remember how close we were. Our staff is made up of a wide range of people with many different interests and talents. We have people in theater, band, sports, club presidents, and we all got along so well. We knew that we had each other’s backs. We created a bond between that was so tight and can never be replaced.